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Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6350-6362, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6350-6362.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Specific Antibody Can Prevent Fungal Biofilm Formation and This Effect Correlates with Protective Efficacy

Luis R. Martinez and Arturo Casadevall*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York

Received 7 March 2005/ Returned for modification 16 May 2005/ Accepted 13 July 2005

One of the most troublesome medical problems today is infection of prosthetic devices with organisms that form polysaccharide biofilms. This combined with increasing antimicrobial drug resistance is making many infectious diseases incurable. Cryptococcus neoformans is a human-pathogenic fungus that has a polysaccharide capsule and can form biofilms in prosthetic medical devices. We developed a system to study cryptococcal biofilm formation in vitro and studied the effect of antibody to the C. neoformans capsular polysaccharide on this process. C. neoformans biofilm formation was dependent on the presence of a polysaccharide capsule and correlated with the ability of capsular polysaccharide to bind the polystyrene solid support. Protective antibodies prevented biofilm formation whereas nonprotective antibodies were not effective. The mechanism of antibody action involved interference with capsular polysaccharide release from the fungal cell. In contrast, lactoferrin, an effector molecule of innate immune mechanisms, was unable to prevent fungal biofilm formation despite its efficacy against bacterial biofilms. Our results suggest a new role of adaptive humoral immunity whereby some antibodies can inhibit biofilm formation by encapsulated organisms. Vaccines that elicit antibody responses to capsular antigens and/or passive transfer of antibodies to microbial polysaccharides may be useful in preventing biofilm formation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461. Phone: (718) 430-2215. Fax: (718) 430-8968. E-mail: casadeva{at}aecom.yu.edu.

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6350-6362, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6350-6362.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Robertson, E. J., Casadevall, A. (2009). Antibody-Mediated Immobilization of Cryptococcus neoformans Promotes Biofilm Formation. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 2528-2533 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Imamura, Y., Chandra, J., Mukherjee, P. K., Lattif, A. A., Szczotka-Flynn, L. B., Pearlman, E., Lass, J. H., O'Donnell, K., Ghannoum, M. A. (2008). Fusarium and Candida albicans Biofilms on Soft Contact Lenses: Model Development, Influence of Lens Type, and Susceptibility to Lens Care Solutions. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52: 171-182 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Casadevall, A., Pirofski, L.-a. (2007). Antibody-Mediated Protection through Cross-Reactivity Introduces a Fungal Heresy into Immunological Dogma. Infect. Immun. 75: 5074-5078 [Full Text]  
  • Martinez, L. R., Casadevall, A. (2007). Cryptococcus neoformans Biofilm Formation Depends on Surface Support and Carbon Source and Reduces Fungal Cell Susceptibility to Heat, Cold, and UV Light. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4592-4601 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Martinez, L. R., Casadevall, A. (2006). Cryptococcus neoformans Cells in Biofilms Are Less Susceptible than Planktonic Cells to Antimicrobial Molecules Produced by the Innate Immune System.. Infect. Immun. 74: 6118-6123 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Martinez, L. R., Bryan, R. A., Apostolidis, C., Morgenstern, A., Casadevall, A., Dadachova, E. (2006). Antibody-guided alpha radiation effectively damages fungal biofilms.. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 50: 2132-2136 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Martinez, L. R., Casadevall, A. (2006). Susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans Biofilms to Antifungal Agents In Vitro. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 50: 1021-1033 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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